Gift of Black
by Kiki Malone
Summary: He was stupid. He was so stupid. If he had just thought... It was too late for that now. For thirteen years. Dumbledore, Snape and the Tonks family have kept a secret. But somebody else has learned this secret and now a family is in danger. Sirius must now face a part of his past that he's forgotten... and it is one pissed off past.
1. Chapter 1

**Gift of Black**

**Prologue**

"Why are you telling me this Dumbledore?" , the woman asked.

"I simply thought that it would put your mind at ease, knowing that he is innocent."

"IT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING! NOBODY ELSE KNOWS AND HE WAS STILL _STUPID_! IF HE HAD SIMPLY THOUGHT HIS ACTIONS THROUGH AND CONSULTED SOMEONE BEFORE ACTING, _NONE_ OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AN _ISSUE_! I DON'T _CARE_ IF HE'S INNOCENT! THE FECKING EEJIT _DESERVES_ TO GO TO AZKABAN JUST FOR BEING STUPID! IF HE HAD THOUGHT FOR EVEN ONE SE-"

"Darling," the woman was a interrupted by the calm voice of a man, who wrapped his arms around her, "you need to calm down... Like you said, it doesn't matter anymore. You need to sleep. Let's say goodnight to Dumbledore and go to bed."

"Ah. Yes. Sleep is just what you need, especially with this one coming so soon. You'll want to get whatever sleep you can." Dumbledore said cheerfully, as if hadn't had his head screamed off by a woman who could rival a banshee. "But do promise me that you'll think about what I've said."

The woman sighed shaking her black curls out of her face. "I'll think about it, but _don't_ get your hopes up. I highly doubt that I'll change my mind. I have my reasons, and I know you don't agree, but it's what _I_ think is best for _my_ family,"

"Very well, then. I shall be seeing you later I suppose." Dumbledore began walking to the door, but then stopped and turned around, "Ah, and one more thing before I leave. What are planning on naming this one? I was talking to Nymphadora recently, and she said something about you plotting against her -quite maliciously I might add- with your daughters' names"

"... I think that our dear Nymphadora is simply stressed from her work as auror. I've heard that it's not the easiest of jobs, and let's face it; training under Mad-Eye? She's bound to pick up a few of his tics, and paranoia is at the top of the list." The woman replied in a sweet motherly tone.

"You're not going to tell me are you?" Dumbledore asked chuckling.

"No, I'm angry enough to try cursing you, but I don't think my husband will allow such a thing. So instead, I'll settle for petty vindictiveness; and you can wait until she's born."

Dumbledore smiled and observed the couple over the top of his half-moon spectacles.

"You've changed, and yet, you're still the same as you always were. It's good to see that you're happy though. I'll be leaving now. I have much to plan for next year's special event. Good-bye now.", and with that Dumbledore walked out the door and disappeared with a pop. Leaving the couple to shut the door, head to bed and think about what he said.


	2. Chaos in Grimm, Tonks in Control

**Gift of Black**

**Chapter One: Chaos in Grimm, Tonks In Control**

"HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF-" Fred, George and Ginny sang, as they danced around the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Harry had come home from his trial cleared of all charges and was once again, a Hogwarts students. Molly was just as happy as the children, but believed that they should be sitting down to eat, not turning the kitchen into a three ring circus -although a three ring circus would be calmer than this. She had told them to stop multiple times, but they just kept on going. Sirius, was off delivering a message to Dumbledore, and thank goodness, because somehow, Mrs. Weasley knew that he would find a way to make it even louder. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"SHUT UP!" She roared just as the kitchen door opened.

Everyone turned to see who was coming through, and was more than a little surprised at what they saw. There stood Professor McGonagall, Lupin, and Tonks with a small group of children that looked strangely familiar. Tonks was holding a baby girl in one arm, while holding the hand of a girl who looked to be about five or six, Lupin was in the same position with two boys -one that looked to be a toddler, and the other, five or six- and Professor McGonagall was guiding a boy who looked old enough to be going to Hogwarts and slightly younger girl by the shoulders.

"Come along dear, it's perfectly safe" McGonagall said to the girl who was trying not to cry.

"Where are Mummy and Daddy?" She cried.

"Your mother will be along shortly, dear, now please come into the kitchen."

The girl complied and the group began walking inside. Unfortunately, everyone had forgotten about Tonks's clumsiness and had not thought to take the baby from her before letting her walk down the stairs. Needless to say, Tonks went flying. Lupin, who had been anticipating this, let go of the little boy's hand to grab Tonks and make sure that she did not drop the baby.

"See? This is why I told you not to carry the baby. You could have dropped her. Hand her over."

Tonks steadied herself before giving the little girl to Lupin. The little girl, who had been giggling, thinking it was a game, gave Lupin a panicked look and began turning her head between the two adults before crying.

"And this is why _I_ told you, _I_ should hold her. She doesn't know you and is in a bit of a phase."

"Well, then sit down and I'll give her back to you."

"Oh, relax." Tonks said as she moved towards a chair, "I've already dropped her five times! Wait, make that seven!" Tonks exclaimed as she sat down. "Don't look at me like that, she's one, she's supposed to be dropped at this age!"

"Remind me to have a talk with your future husband." Lupin said as he handed the baby over.

"Oh, don't worry, I think that can be easily arranged." Tonks smiled at Lupin. "Wotcher, Harry!" she said turning to him as the girl's cries died down, "How'd the trial go? Are you a convicted criminal now? Are they tossing you in Azkaban? Have you lost your buttocks yet?" Tonks asked as she bounced the baby up and down.

"Um… no, it went fine actually." Harry replied as he looked at all the kids in the kitchen, and Professor McGonagall talking to Mrs. Weasley quietly in the background, while Lupin ran out saying that he had to find Sirius. "Not to be rude or anything... but… what's up with all the kids."

"Hm? Oh, yes I guess this must seem a bit strange, bringing children to top secret headquarters like it's a daycare center. There's a good reason, just can't tell you quite this second. Sorry Harry." At this point, the younger children had become quite comfortable in the kitchen, and were running around trying to make friends with everyone, play with Crookshanks, and explore this new place. Harry and the other teenagers wanted to ask more, but Tonks seemed rather occupied, trying to keep the kids in order while following Lupin's orders not to walk around with the baby.

"OI! PHOEBUS!" she yelled at the youngest boy, "Don't stick your hand in there, it could get stuck! Fred! George! Grab him!" The twins scrambled to grab the little boy who was trying to see if his arm could fit through the spindles of a kitchen chair. "Peader! Get off of Ron! Ask him before trying to get a piggy back ride!" She yelled at the middle boy who was climbing on Ron and accidently shoving his face in the table.

"Thanks Tonks." Ron said in a muffled voice.

"Welcome Ron. NYMPHIE!" She yelled, the little girl looked up from her conversation with Ginny and Hermione, and blinked her big eyes at Tonks. "... You're fine! Keep going!" Tonks declared as the little girl happily went back to her conversation and showing off how "good" she could dance.

.

"I've got it aaaall under control." Tonks smiled happily to herself, as she continued to bounce the baby. "EAMON! DEIRDRE! GO MAKE TROUBLE! IT'S TOO PEACEFUL HERE!"

Harry stared at Tonks in disbelief. 'How could this be _peaceful_?' he thought. His head was buzzing trying figure out what was going on. _What_ were these kids doing here? Why did the older ones look upset, while the younger ones played? _Where_ were their parents? Why couldn't they know about the kids being here? And _why_ did these children look so familiar? He'd never met them before! They didn't even look that much alike. Their skin ranged from snow white to light gold, some had blue eyes, some had brown. Half of them had black hair, while the other half had brown. They all looked so different, and yet he could tell that they were siblings, and they still looked _very_ familiar, like he should know them… but he didn't! The other teenagers were trying to entertain the kids, so he couldn't ask them. And if their reactions were anything to go by, they were all just as clueless as him. The adults weren't going to tell him anything, but judging by the expressions McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley were exchanging, he guessed that whatever was going on, was not good. What was going on?

* * *

Name Pronunciations

Phoebus- Fee-bis

Peader- Pador

Eamon- Amon

Deirdre- Deer-druh


	3. Banshee in the Kitchen

**Gift of Black**

**Chapter Two: Banshee in The Kitchen**

Mrs. Weasley had decided to calm everyone down with lunch and pumpkin juice. While Mrs. Weasley was preparing the extra lunch, Tonks decided to give introductions.

"Right! So- _NYMPHIE_! Let the poor cat go!" She yelled at the little girl who trying to keep a hold of Crookshanks. Hermione turned around and grabbed her cat from the little girl, who seemed to be quite shocked that the kitty would not let her hold him.

"I guess I'll start with this one, then. Nymphie, please stand up so everyone can see you." The little girl wasted no time in pulling out a chair and standing up on it so that she could be seen. Her golden brown hair was in two braids, and for the first time, Harry noticed that she was wearing a nightgown. After glancing around, he realized that all of these children were wearing their pajamas.

"Okay, this is Nymphie, she's-"

"Tat's not my name!" Nymphie yelled.

"Volume, dear, and it's 'that', not 'tat." McGonagall said before going back to whispering to Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes it is, Nymphie, if it wasn't your, name you wouldn't respond to it."

"Mammy says it's a nickname, and I need to introduce myself with my _real_ name! Ekspecial around you!"

"'_Especially_', not 'ekspecial'." Professor McGonagall corrected, only to be ignored as Tonks continued to argue with the girl.

"Well, your Mummy's an evil witch." Tonks replied.

"What is your real name?" The twins asked in unison, quite curious as to why Tonks didn't want to tell them.

"Nymphadora Chang!" The girl pronounced loud and carefully. Tonks covered her face with her free hand.

'Chang?', Harry thought, 'did she say Chang?' Harry asked himself, thinking of Cho Chang. They certainly did look like they could be related, now that he thought about it. Harry glanced at the others, he saw recognition flash across Hermione's face. Ron seemed to make the connection and so did the twins, but Ginny seemed… well he wasn't sure what to think about her reaction. It seemed as if she had already known this somehow.

"And tat's my little brother, Phoebus! He's t-ree!" She yelled before the twins could say more, and pointed to the black haired boy that they had subdued with a fake wand.

"Three." McGonangall corrected.

"And tat's Peader!" She pointed at the brown haired boy who finally gotten off of Ron's back and was now waiting for lunch. "He's five! And tat's Eamon! He's...old" she decided.

"I'm eleven, that's not old, twenty-five is old." the boy at the table responded.

"Oh yeah, tat is old" Nymphie agreed before looking up at Tonks. "Tonks is old!"

"I'm twenty-three, kiddo, I've still got a few years left." Tonks stated with a smile. "Nymphie, how about you let _me_ finish."

Nymphie looked at Tonks with perplexed face before replying. "Okay!" And happily sat down.

"I'll be leaving now." McGonagall announced, walking towards the door. "Be good, your mother should be here soon." She told children before leaving.

"BYE!" Nymphie yelled.

"As you can see, Nymphie, here, is an attention hog. And yes we have the same name, so shut it." She glared at the twins, who were about to speak, but seemed to reconsider after seeing her glare. "This is Deirdre," she gestured to the black haired girl next to her, who was by far the palest of them all, "she's nine. And this little girl here is Callidora, she just turned one about a month and half ago." Tonks held the little girl up over her head,with a smile, while waving her back and forth. The next thing they knew, there was a loud crash. Tonks had been leaning the chair on it's back legs and lost her balance. Now both she and Callidora were on the floor screaming and crying.

"TONKS!" Mrs. Weasley screamed as she ran towards them to check on the little girl who was now crying after flying out of Tonks's hands and hitting her head. Tonks was screaming out apologies on the floor while having a mini tantrum of her own.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I should have known better! I'm sorry! She's gonna kill me!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure she wo… Well we can hope she doesn't." Mrs. Weasley said as she checked the baby to make sure that she was okay. "Besides, you've already dropped her nine times-"

"SEVEN!" Tonks, who was still lying on floor corrected her "SEVEN! But I've never dropped any of them like this before! And with everything that's happ-"

"What's going on?" Lupin asked as he came into the kitchen panting. "I thought I heard a crash!"

Lupin looked at scene before him and seemed to figure most of it out rather quickly. Mrs. Weasley was trying to calm the baby down while Ginny and Hermione looked for ice and towels, and Tonks was lying on the ground with an expression that screamed guilty. The boys were all wondering if they should laugh or simply leave the kitchen.

"Tonks, I told you not to walk around with her!"

"She wasn't." Said Deirdre, who was smiling and giggling for the first time since she entered the kitchen. "She was sitting." Deirdre pointed to chair on it's side while Tonks glared at her.

"Tonks, were you-" Lupin did not get to finish as Tonks jumped up and began chasing the girl.

"Why would you tell him that?! You little rat get over here!"

"What's going on in here?" Sirius yelled while entering the kitchen, only to be run into by Deirdre, trying to escape Tonks, who froze the moment she saw Sirius. Sirius steadied the girl to prevent her from falling over, looked at her and then the rest of the kitchen.

"Why is my kitchen filled with children?" He asked.

"That's what I was trying to tell you Sirius." Lupin replied looking exhausted. "It's not something to discuss around the children though."

"Why not?" Eamon asked. He knew better than his siblings. He knew that something was seriously wrong, and that the adults were trying to hide it from them. Lupin and Mrs. Weasley were at a loss for words and not quite sure how to answer, in a way that would not worry the children. They were saved by Tonks answering the question for them.

"Because you're loud and it's hard for adults to talk over all that noise."

"_I'm_ loud? I've been the quietest one here! You've been making more noise than me!"

"True, but your siblings won't leave the room without you and I am capable of being quiet when needed. Trained three years to gain that ability, so when you've had three years training, and learned to shake your siblings, you can be let in on the adult conversations. Deal?"

"Why don't we go find rooms for you lot?" Mrs. Weasley said to the children as Sirius sat down.

"Their staying?" Sirius asked

"What about lunch?" Peader interrupted before anyone could answer.

"We'll bring it up with us. Come along now." Mrs. Weasley began shepherding the children out of the kitchen. "Ginny, Hermione, could you two help me out?

"Yes, mum."

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley."

The girls left the kitchen, Hermione carrying Phoebus, while Ginny carried the sandwiches.

"Boys… find something useful to do."

"I've just started eating!" Ron complained.

"Well you can eat later!" Mrs. Weasley snapped as she waved her wand and made the food disappear. "I want you doing something helpful and getting out of the adults' hair... NOW!" Mrs. Weasley yelled before turning back to the children and leading them away with a smile.

"Nice going Ronnie." Said Fred.

"Yeah, you made all the food disappear." George continued. "If you'd just kept your mouth shut, we could eat and listen in, but now look-"

"-we don't get either." Fred finished.

"Oh, shut up." Ron grumbled.

Fred and George turned to Tonks now, ignoring Sirius's annoyed expression as he waited for an explanation.

"Now dear Tonks, we promise to drop anything involving this Nymphadora Nymphadora business, if we can stay.

"We're gonna have to tell them anyways, may as well do it now." Lupin stated while Tonks glared at the twins, debating whether or not to simply take away their voices.

"Great!" Sirius clapped, moving forward in his chair. "I, for one, am _dying_ for an explanation!"

Remus looked at Tonks and nodded for her to begin. Tonks, looked unusually nervous and began pulling on her pink hair.

"You know, pink _really_ isn't a public speaking color. I think I'll go to the bathroom and change it!"

"Tonks!"

"Oh, okay, fine. Here we go."

"This is gonna be good." The twins said with a grin.

Tonks cleared her throat and was about to begin when the door opened once again.

"We were just leaving!" Ron exclaimed as he and Harry jumped out of their seats and the twins disapparated out of the kitchen. Sirius buried his head in his hands, wondering when the interruptions and stalling would stop."Oh… you're not mum." Ron stated staring at Mad-Eye Moody who was standing in the doorway.

"Of course I'm not your mother!" Mad-Eye grumbled, looking behind him. "You can come in!" He called. Then he turned to Tonks, "I'm going back to check the house. I'll be back later tonight. Nice seeing you Padfoot!"

Tonks released a breathe of relief when Moody left and a woman came in. She was a small, fragile-looking woman, who looked like she had stepped out of a fairy tale. Her hair was black and curly, her skin was as white as snow, and she walked as gracefully as was possible for a pregnant woman.

"Who is it this time?" Sirius asked looking up. He froze. "Oh… It's you… Uh… Sorcha?"

"Excuse me?" The woman asked in a rather dangerous voice that contradicted her frail appearence and signaled for Harry and Ron to make their escape.

"You _are_ Sorcha, right?" Sirius asked as the woman drew in a breath and glared at him. It seemed as if she would calm down. Then she spoke.

"Sirius _Fecking_ Black! YOU BETTER TELL ME _RIGHT_ NOW THAT YOU ARE JOKING!" She screamed in voice that rivaled a banshee's and gave no hint of breaking. "BECAUSE IF YOU ARE NOT JOKING I WILL _RIP_ YOU LIMB FROM LIMB AND TURN YOU INTO CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS TO MATCH THAT FECKING DISGUSTING TROLL LEG IN THE HALL! _THREE_ YEARS, SIRIUS! HOW DO YOU FORGET _THREE_ FECKING YEARS?!"

"Calm down, calm down." Sirius began begging. "It was a joke, a joke, okay? Sorry, thought it was funny. Apparently it wasn't. When did you learn to swear? It's good to see you again Sorcha! You look…" Sirius took in her appearance trying to find something to say "...pregnant." he added. The next thing Sirius knew, she had her wand out and began firing curses at him.

"FOURTEEN YEARS AND THAT'S ALL YOU CAN SAY? HUH? YOU LOOK PREGNANT!? YEAH! THAT HAPPENS YOU EEJIT! YOU! YOU ARE SO STUPID! YOU! _EEJIT_! WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU _THINKING_?!"

"Are we still talking about the pregnant thing? Cause I'll admit that _was_ rather tactless. You look good!" He improvised while blocking her curses and trying not to hurt her. "Didn't mean to say pregnant, meant to say good! You _are_ pregnant though right? Cause I mean, you've got to admit that you do _look_ pregnant."

"I HATE YOU! WHAT ON EARTH IS YOUR- ARGH! OF COURSE I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT- … YOU EEJIT! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! _EVERYTHING_ IS YOUR FECKING FAULT! NONE OF THIS WOULD BE HAPPENING IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU! YOU COULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT FOR EVEN ONE SECOND, HUH? COULDN'T HAVE TALKED TO ANYONE?! NO! _NO_! OF COURSE NOT! YOU JUST HAD TO BE THE GREAT BIG AVENGER! HOW DID THAT GO, HUH? DID YOU GET HIM? _NO_! YOU DIDN'T! YOU GOT ARRESTED AND RUINED _EVERYTHING_ FOR _EVERYONE_! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD EVERYTHING HAS BECOME BECAUSE OF YOUR LITTLE STUNT?! NO! YOU DON'T! AND DID YOU GET HIM THE SECOND TIME? NO! YOU DIDN'T! BECAUSE YOU'RE A FECKING EEJIT! HE GOT AWAY AND NOW YOU-KNOW-WHO IS BACK AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! AND NOW MY FAMILY IS IN DANGER YOU... YOU… ARGH! I CAN'T EVEN THINK STRAIGHT ANYMORE!"

"Well, in all fairness, you've never exactly been a thinker or anything else except a looker, for that matter."

Lupin and Tonks had been watching the whole exchange, figuring that it would be best to let the two -mostly one- fight it out of their systems until they either stopped or it got dangerous. Sorcha finally cast one last spell, throwing Sirius against the wall, before turning to the others.

"Where are my children?" She asked, in a voice that was suddenly normal.

"Upstairs with Molly." Tonks replied.

"Thank you."

"Quiet in the halls!" Tonks warned as Sorcha walked towards the door and Lupin helped Sirius up.

"Your kids?!" Sirius yelled.

"_Yes_, stupid. _My_ kids." She called back as she left the kitchen. Sirius scrambled up no longer pretending to be hurt and followed her.

"Those are _your_ kids?"

"Yes! They are!" She hissed back at him as started ascending the stairs.

Sirius stared at her like she was crazy. She must be joking. She _must_ be. She couldn't possibly have kids. This was probably one of those things she said when she was angry. She always did make strange claims when she was mad. Like the time she told him that she was going to drop out of school, because he told that she wouldn't pass her O.W.L.s. She was a drama queen, and he knew that the best way to handle these situations was to laugh it off like he'd always done in the past. He knew he should ignore her, but for some reason he couldn't explain, he didn't.

"Since when do you have kids?!" He blurted out.

Sorcha stopped climbing the stairs and just stood there for a moment before turning around. With how large her stomach was, she looked slightly unbalanced and like she would come tumbling down the stairs any moment. She was looking at him with utter disbelief as if he was the stupidest man on Earth, even stupider than she had already voiced. The look on her face, was what worried him, he knew what that look meant.

"Remember what Tonks said, don't-"

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" She exclaimed, and gestured towards her stomach. "I THOUGHT WE ALREADY COVERED THIS!" She yelled as the curtains covering Walburga's portrait flew open and began it's bloodcurdling screams.

"FILTH!" It screamed as Sorcha marched up the stairs towards it, now distracted from Sirius. Tonks and Lupin rushed out of the kitchen, when they heard the screaming. "SCUM OF THE EARTH! BRINGING DISHONOR AND SHAME ON THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS! DESPICABLE CREATURES! MUDBL-"

"SHUT _UP_ YOU DISGUSTING GHOUL! WHO PAINTED SOMETHING THIS UGLY ANYWAYS!" Sorcha started screaming at the portrait, not knowing what it was.

"DISGUSTING CREATURE IN MY HOUSE! STAINING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS!"

"DISGUSTING?! _DISGUSTING_?!" Sorcha screamed over Walburga. "I AM ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE IN THIS _WORLD_! SIRIUS! COVER THIS GHOUL UP!"

"YOU DARE TO C-"

Soon enough the woman and the painting were yelling over each other, and nobody could understand what was being said. Lupin and Sirius were trying to pull the curtains over Walburga while she and Sorcha continued screaming at each other, and Tonks slipped on the stairs. Soon enough, the racket attracted the rest of Grimmauld place's residents and chaos once again reigned supreme.

On top of the screaming of Walburga and Sorcha, was Callidora's crying and the younger children screaming because they thought that the portrait was a monster. Tonks, Ginny and Hermione began ushering the children into rooms. Fred and George, deciding that this screaming match was hilarious tried egging it on, earning them smacks on the heads from Mrs. Weasley who recruited them to help stun the other pictures who were now all screaming. Tonks returned and told Harry and Ron to help with the kids while she helped stun the pictures and finally closed Walburga's curtains. The last thing anybody heard before the curtains closed, was Sorcha threatening to let her children color on the portraits with cursed markers, and spit all over the house.

"Wha-" Tonks and Sirius covered Sorcha's mouth before she could speak again and gestured to move into the drawing room. Once inside, she sat on the couch and looked at them until she was told that she could talk.

"What _was_ that thing? I mean I know that the Black family has horrible taste, but seriously? Who has a life size picture of a ghoul?"

"Well first of all, that's not what a ghoul looks like." Sirius stated. Sorcha glared at him before turning to Lupin.

"Is that true Remus?"

"Yes. I'm afraid it is."

"Oh! That's new!" Sorcha said in a surprised tone.

"No it's not." Sirius replied while wondering _how_, at the age of thirty-two, she did not know this. She may look twenty and act sixteen, but he knew better, and so should she.

"Sooo, what was it, then?"

"My mother, and please try acting your age."

"That explains a lot." Sorcha replied, disregarding that last and glaring at Sirius, while Tonks and Remus braced themselves for another fight.

"Excuse me?" Sirius yelled, "What's that supposed to mean? What on Earth did I do to make you so damn hostile towards me? I may not have been the best boyfriend in the world, but I never treated you badly and I certainly didn't do anything to deserve being compared to that creature! What did I do to make you so damn angry?"

"We dated for three years, and you forgot my name."

"I'm gonna take her side on this one Sirius... Sorry." Tonks shrugged at him.

"Me too." Remus confessed, raising his hand.

"Oh, come _on_! It's been _fourteen_ years most of which was spent in _Azkaban_! Give me a break!"

"No! You don't get a break, especially after everything that's happened because of you! Do you want to know the _real_ reason why I'm mad at you? Do you want to know _why_ my children and I are in your house? DO YOU?!" She screamed on the verge of tears.

" Actually, _yes_! I would like to know! I've been trying find that out for the past _hour_ now! Why, are _you_ and _your_ children in _my_ house? And why are you so fucking angry and acting like I did something wrong?!" Sirius shouted back at her.

"BECAUSE YOU _DID_ DO SOMETHING WRONG! YOU SCREWED UP AND WRECKED _EVERYTHING_! AND NOW MY DAUGHTER AND HUSBAND ARE MISSING AND IT'S_ ALL YOUR FAULT_!" She screamed at him before wiping the tears off her face and turning to Tonks. "Can you please take to my children now?"

"Yeah," Tonks said leading her to the door. "Remus, can you please do the explaining?"

"I'll try." Remus sighed as he turned to face Sirius who was staring at the door that the girls had just walked through. Sirius finally turned to look at his best friend who was fixing him with a weary look.

"What's going on Remus? Is she over reacting again or did something really happen?"

"Her husband and eldest daughter are currently missing."

"_And_?"

"And it might be your fault."

"How?"

* * *

Name Pronunciation

Callidora: Calla-dora

Sorcha: Sor-sha


	4. No Nonsense Tonks

_It was pointed out that I wrote the wrong pronunciation for Sorcha's name. I double checked, and I did. The name, like many Irish names, has multiple pronunciations. It can be pronounced either Sor-a-cha, sor - aka, or Surk-ha. .com , this website is good to use to learn some names. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, I seem to be unable to create a story without Irish characters, which gets confusing as a lot of people are unfamiliar with Irish culture, and sometimes it's simply an odd place for an Irish person to be. But, as my father said when a weeaboo complained about the "stupid" Irish people, who live in Japan, and are "destroying Japanese culture"._

_"We've already 'destroyed' every other fecking culture in the world. Now it's Japan turn, and I don't see them complaining, so get used to it!"_

_... Anyways, I was told that I need a disclaimer, so, yeah... I do not own Harry Potter..._

* * *

**Gift of Black**

**Chapter Three: No Nonsense Tonks**

When Harry and Ron escaped the kitchen, they decided to hide in their room until things calmed down. They were rather shocked when they could still hear Sorcha's voice faintly coming through the closed door.

"Bloody hell, Harry, that woman puts my mum to shame!" Ron whined, "You don't think she's living here, do you? I don't think I could take it! Mum and that lady? We might as well, be dead!"

Before Harry had a chance to respond the door opened and in walked Hermione.

"-fourteen years and that's-" Hermione shut the door and hurried over to Harry and Ron.

"What's going on down there? Who's shouting?"

"We're not quite sure." Said Harry.

"A monster." Ron whimpered.

"Oh don't be ridiculous Ronald"

"I'm not! She looks sweet and innocent at first, but she must be a monster! You heard her! She's louder than my mum! That's not natural! She must part Banshee!"

"If Seamus's boggart is anything to go by, I'd believe it." Harry added. "Besides, if Fleur can be be part Veela, what's to say that _she_ can't be part Banshee."

"I don't know mate,when you put it like that, have you seen a banshee lately? They're not particularly attractive, who would-"

"Oh never mind." Hermione snapped. "Who is she? You guys didn't say."

"Don't know. Some pregnant lady. Looks about Tonks's age."

"-vrything is your fecking fault! N-" The door shut quickly as Ginny entered the room.

"I guess Mrs. Chang is here then." she announced. "I wonder if that means that Isadora is here too. Although I can't imagine Mrs. Chang yelling like that. Especially with Mr. Chang and her children around."

"Do you know these people Ginny?" Harry asked.

"Of course I do!"

"How?" Ron asked.

"You know them too Ron!"

"I do?" Ron raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"_Yes_! They're that family that mum sometimes babysits for! You remember my friend Isadora, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I remember Isadora… a little. How old is she now? She'll be going to Hogwarts soon, right?"

"She _is_ in Hogwarts, she's been going for two years, now."

"Really?"

"_Yes_! She's in our house!"

"Well now I know you're making things up! I'm not that oblivious! I would have noticed if she was in our house! Besides, that woman looks too young to have a thirteen year old!"

"She's not lying Ron. Isadora Chang, is in Gryffindor. She's Cho's step-cousin. And there are plenty of ways to stay looking young, even without magic." Hermione informed them.

"She's related to Cho?" Harry asked.

"Not biologically, although you can't tell by looking at them. She looks exactly like her younger siblings, who _are_ biologically related to Cho."

"That's a little unusual I guess."

"Maybe, although I guess it's nice for the family. No weird questions, you know."

"Then how do _you_ know?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"Because, somebody asked Cho why her cousin was in her aunt and uncle's wedding pictures and she told them. By the time Isadora got to school, anybody who listens to gossip knew, so I heard Lavender and Parvati talked about it a couple of times in our dorm."

"Why does anybody even care?" Harry asked

"Well from what I've heard her mother was invol- What _is_ that noise?" Hermione asked, drawing everyone's attention to a new and louder sound which was quickly growing. The four teenagers ran to the door and yanked it open to see what was definitely the weirdest sight of the day. Sorcha was having a full blown yelling match with Walburga's portrait while Lupin and Sirius were trying to close the curtains. They'd seen Sirius yell at the portrait before, but never to such an extreme level, and they'd never seen the portrait get this worked up either. The children were coming out of their rooms, strangely excited to see their screaming mother, but scared of the portrait, causing the younger ones to scream while the baby cried because the noise was scaring her. Tonks, who had caught herself on the stairs ran past the portrait and straight for the kids with Hermione and Ginny following.

"Ginny, take Callidora from your mum!" Tonks yelled as she and Hermione ushered the other children towards a room. "Harry! Ron! Help the girls with the kids would you?"

Tonks left them alone in the room with the kids and ran back to deal with the portrait. It took awhile, but eventually with the help of Eamon, Deirdre and Mrs. Weasley (when the chaos in the hall was done), they managed to calm the children down. They had just started playing a game of gobstones and watching Callidora's attempts at walking, when the door opened and Tonks walked inside with Sorcha, who looked as if she'd been crying.

"Mammy!" The kids ran to their mother for hugs. Sorcha sat down and on the bed and hugged her children back, with a small smile.

"Where's Callidora?" She asked looking around.

"Right here." Mrs. Weasley said, handing the baby over to her mother.

"Thank you, Molly"

"You're welcome, their such good children that-" Mrs. Weasley was interrupted by a coughing fit from Ron, that sounded suspiciously like the words "No they're not", earning him a glare from Mrs. Weasley and a smack from Hermione.

"Would you like some alone time with them?" Tonks asked.

"Yes please." Sorcha responded in a surprisingly gentle voice. "Not to say that I'm ungrateful or anything, it's just-"

"I know, Sorcha. We understand." Tonks replied with a smile. "Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, come with me."

Everybody but the Changs left the room, and as the door closed, they heard Deirdre asking where their father and sister were. Mrs. Weasley took the dishes and remnants of Callidora's ice down to the kitchen and Tonks continued down the hall until something caught her eye. Trailing across the ground in the direction of the drawing room, were two flesh colored strings. Tonks grabbed the strings, pulled them away from door and held the ends up to her face.

"Harry and Ron's room, now." She said in a stern voice before cutting the strings with her wand.

When they entered the room, Fred and George were already waiting and sitting on Harry's bed. The other teenagers filed in and sat down on the beds waiting for Tonks to speak. Tonks looked at the twins with her arms crossed and no hints of her usual fun and humor on her face; causing everyone to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"That was a private conversation, and I take it that's not the only one you listened in on today."

"It's possible that we've listened to two-" said George.

"-Or three." Fred added.

"And what do you know?" Tonks asked.

"Oh, not much" Said Fred.

"Just that Sirius used to be _romantically_ involved with the 'lovely' Shrieking Lady." George Supplied.

"And it ended when he went to Azkaban." Fred continued.

"But then he forgot all about her."

"And now she's angry and going on a rampage."

"There's more. But I think you know what it is. And I think that's what you're here to tell us."

Tonks glared at them for a moment longer before speaking.

"Try to remember that I've taught you a lot about spying, and then think _twice_, the next time you try spying with me involved, or I _will_ finish the purge of the extendable ears."

"Understood!" The twins saluted.

"Don't leave yet!" Tonks ordered, "We still have a lot to discuss, including, what you may and may not tell the children. Do you all understand?"

"Tonks?"

"Yes Ginny?"

"Where's Isadora?"

Tonks looked at Ginny. She looked almost as tired as Lupin, at the mention of the girl's name, and seemed very worried. This change caused the already uncomfortable atmosphere, to grow worse.

"We don't know." Tonks responded after staring at Ginny for awhile. "That's why they're here."

"What happened?!" Ginny shouted.

"Death Eaters showed up on their doorstep this morning, while Dumbledore was at Ministry." Tonks stated. "Fortunately, Dumbledore had foreseen this and put several emergency measures in place. Back when Dumbledore was still in the minister's good graces, he convinced him that Sirius might come after the family and got them a special portkey for them to use if trouble should arise. This morning, they were about leave when Sorcha realized that Isadora was still in bed. The Death Eaters were already inside, so Blake told her to take the kids while he got Isadora, and he would meet her at Hogwarts… They never arrived."

"Maybe they just got delayed or went somewhere else." Hermione suggested, unconvincingly.

"Maybe, but it seems unlikely. When we checked out the house… there were obvious signs of a fight, but there was nobody there, not even a dead body. They can't apparate or disapparate on the property, so the chances of them being captured seem very high. We're loo-"

"Why would Voldemort be after them?" Harry interrupted. The Weasleys and Hermione flinched.

"What do you mean Harry?"

"They seem like a pretty normal family, not to mention that you told us that Voldemort wants to keep a low profile. So why would he go after this family? And why would the ministry believe that Sirius was after them?"

"As Fred and George stated, she used to be involved with Sirius, in more ways than one. Many would logically assume that he would go after her at some point. As for You-Know-Who, that's a story that has multiple layers, and can't be easily explained. Let's just say, that during the last war, despite her age and seemingly uselessness, she did get on his bad side, and had to go into hiding."

"How? What did she-"

"It's none of your business!" Tonks snapped. "You lot already know more than you need to know. I'm not telling you any more! All you need to know, is that the children do not know and you are _not_ to tell them! Their mother is going to tell them some lame story about why they're here, and why Isadora and Blake aren't. All the children, except Eamon, will believe it. Eamon will be suspicious. _Try_ not to tell him anything, he won't tell the others, but we'd prefer that he doesn't know." Tonks turned to Ginny, who looked horrified at what she had heard, and grabbed her shoulders. "Ginny, I know that you're worried about Isadora, but you have to pretend that everything's fine, can you promise me that you'll try?" Ginny nodded her head. "Thank you, Ginny, and please don't worry. You know that we're the best and we'll find them, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. I've got to go now. Remember what I said, and no more spying!" She called over her shoulder as she left the room.

"Bloody hell!" Ron said once the door closed. "We're doomed!"


	5. Broken Fairy Tale and Surprises

_Disclaimer Thing: I don't own Harry Potter._

* * *

**Gift of Black**

**Chapter Four: Broken Fairy Tale and Surprises**

Tonks was almost to the drawing room door, when it opened to reveal Lupin. He looked a little surprised to find her right outside at first and then smiled.

"Ah, Nymph-"

"Remus." Tonks warned.

"Sorry. _Tonks_. I was just coming to find you. Have you finished with the kids?"

"Yes... I ended up giving them more information than I wanted, but I've told them not to tell the children anything… I caught Fred and George eavesdropping on you with extendable ears.…" Tonks looked into the drawing room. "How's he taking it?"

"He can hear you." Sirius said, annoyed, while standing up and walking past the pair.

"Sirius!" Tonks called. "Leave her alone. She's been through enough today, and the last thing she needs is more stress."

"How long have you known her?"

"Why do you care?" Tonks asked.

"Just answer the question Nymphadora."

"I told you n-" Tonks was silenced by Lupin covering her mouth.

"Maybe we should move this into the drawing room." He said while struggling to keep Tonks mouth covered.

"Why- oh… fine." Sirius agreed as he glanced at Walburga's curtains.

"I told you not to call me Nymphadora!" Tonks hissed to the moment the door closed.

"And I want an answer." Sirius replied.

"Fine, I met her a couple months after the Potters died."

"And you knew?"

"_Yes_!" Tonk replied, exasperated. "Why?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it was none of your business! Besides, what was I supposed to say?! 'Hey cousin! Haven't seen you for awhile! Good to know that you're not a treacherous serial killer! Did you know that your ex-girlfriend had a baby nine months after you went to Azkaban! It's not your kid, and I know you haven't thought about her at all in the past fourteen years, but _heeey_, I just thought you should know!' -is that what you wanted?!"

"Yes! … Well, no, actually… I guess you're right." Sirius sighed, before leaving. Tonks stared as he left and turned to Lupin.

"Did I just win?" She asked in shock, causing him to chuckle.

"It would appear so." He replied with a smile.

"Wow!" Tonks sat on the couch flabberghasted, while Lupin watched her with a smile. The two of them stayed like that for awhile, before Tonks jumped up.

"We have to go!" She cried. "We were supposed to meet Mad-Eye at the house! Oh man! He's gonna be angry!" She grabbed Lupin's hand and wrenched the door open, and ran for the stairs. She tripped on the second step and would have fallen the rest of the way if Lupin hadn't pulled her back.

"Let's slow down. I think he'd be more upset if he knew that you lost to the stairs."

"Argh! I'd never hear the end of it!" Tonks complained while smiling at Lupin.

Due to the spells surrounding the house, Tonks and Lupin had to apparate to the end of the driveway, which seemed to be a dirt path poking out of a patch of woods. The woods in question, gave off a strange feeling, almost like an enchanted eeriness. It was quiet, except for the soft sounds of birds, wind chimes and small animals. Light broke through the branches and Lupin could have sworn that he saw more than a few small somethings floating through the air.

"Tonks?" He asked they walked down the path.

"Yes, Remus?"

"Are there fairies here?"

"Of course there are! Didn't you know Sorcha when she was younger?"

"Yes. I did. She was three grades below me, and absolutely hopeless at schoolwork. McGonagall put me and Lily in charge of making sure she did it, before it 'accidently' fell into the fire or lake. It was a nightmare."

"But there was one thing that she excelled at." Tonks laughed.

"Yes. Fairies. I remember." Lupin replied with a wry smile. "Unfortunately, there was no class that focused solely on fairies; so I eventually had to recruit James and Sirius to help me."

"That's how they met. Isn't it?"

"Yes, and it escalated dangerously from there." He said, while noticing that they were almost out of the woods.

"She was a real brat back then, wasn't she?"

"_Everybody_ was."

"Except for you?"

"... I may have been the exception." Lupin replied thoughtfully, causing Tonks to burst out laughing.

The laughing stopped, however, when they reached a gate made out of branches and twine, that surrounded a garden filled with flowers, a small pond, trees and the occasional out of place archway. The house in the center of it, was built to look it was carved out the remnants of a large tree, with huge twisted branches acting as pillars, arch ways, window panes and railings; as well as just randomly wrapping around. The windows, doors and awnings were all rounded, and there were random porches and balconies, sticking out here and there. If a muggle were to see it, they would be wondering if they had walked into a story book; but to wizards, it was just another house built away from prying eyes.

It would have been a pleasant sight, if it wasn't for the obvious signs of an attack. The gate was broken and hanging open, the flowers trampled, wind chimes and garden ornaments broken and the front door blasted away.

"Took you long enough." Moody growled walking towards them from the porch.

"Any sign of them Mad-Eye?" Tonks asked quietly.

"Come with me." Was his only response.

They followed him inside the house. Lupin looked around the large round room, that seemed to double as a living and dining room. There were two archways, one to the right, that opened up to a small library and one, opposite of the front door, that's curtain was ripped down to reveal a kitchen. They followed Moody up the curved staircase, made out of branches and planks of wood, that was set in the middle of the room. The second floor had more rooms, most of which had their doors closed, some of them were different colors and had signs with children's names written on them. They went up the next set of stairs and Moody led them to a lilac door that was hanging off it's hinges with the remnants of a sign that once said 'Isadora'.

"They were definitely after the girl." He said, gruffly. "They knew exactly where to find her too. Didn't even bother looking through any of the other rooms. Came straight here."

Lupin looked inside and saw that the room showed clear signs of being the center of a fight. The room was covered in singe marks, papers and books were scattered everywhere, as well as broken glass and stuffing. As he was looking, he felt Tonks tug his sleeve as her legs gave out under her.

"Tonks!" He bent down to grab her and saw the shocked look on her face.

"The window…"

"What?"

"The window…" She repeated, this time pointing.

Following the direction her finger was pointing in, he saw that window smashed open and definitely big enough for a person to fit through.

"Don't worry." Moody grunted. "I've already checked. There's no body. The girl is still alive. You pack their stuff. I'm going to check the woods, Bill and Kingsley will be here soon to help." He looked down at Tonks one last time before walking away. "We're gonna find her. Don't worry."

As Moody walked away, Lupin helped Tonks stand up. She walked into the room and looked around, finally finding what she was looking for under the bed. As she walked towards him with the sparkly white stuffed unicorn, he was wondering if he should ask about it.

"She'll want this when we find her." She explained, saving him from asking. "Blake gave it to her when he married Sorcha."

They made their way through the various rooms with a family trunk, that was designed with drawers to act as separate suitcases, each with an expanding charm on it. Lupin packed up the bedding, while Tonks chose which clothes to pack -tossing them in a heap for Lupin to send into the suitcases (folded)- and other belongings she thought the family would want.

"Grab that bear, would you Remus? No, not that one, the fluffy one." Tonks said while going through the drawers in the room shared by two youngest girls. Lupin put down the grey bear and picked up the extra fluffy pink one sitting next to it. He walked over and put it in the trunk, lying on the bed and watched Tonks toss clothes onto the floor. "Thank you, now go grab the baby doll in the pink dress and the bag sitting next to it, then get the the green chest from the living room and bring it to the front door." Tonks instructed in a stiff voice.

"Tonks."

"Clothes, Remus."

"Yes, yes. Of course." He said making them fold themselves and fly into the trunk.

"Don't forget the doll."

"Tonks!"

"What?"

"What's wrong with you? You're not being yourself."

"... Remus… I've known that girl since before she was born. I was _there_ when she was born. I watched her come into this world, I babysat her and her siblings, she's _family_ and now… now... I don't know why, but seeing that room, I just… I don't know…." She finished as Lupin hugged her.

"Well you shouldn't worry so much. Mad-Eye believes she's alive, and he's always the first to say you're dead... Or losing a buttock." Tonks giggled into his chest, making him smile. "So if he believes that she's alive, then I'd say she is."

"Thank you Remus."

"You're welcome…. Now I have a question for you."

"What?"

"Why did you see her being born?"

"Oh! Sorcha was having problems after the war. She didn't have anywhere to live or anybody to help her, and didn't want to go St. Mungo's to have her baby. So Dumbledore asked Mum if she could help her. He introduced them to each other and she came to live with us and have Mum as a midwife."

"That doesn't explain why you watched her birth."

"Mum was worried about everything she heard going on in the muggle world -you know hippies and stuff like that- so she decided to make me help, at the age of nine, so that I would learn not to have sex before I'm married."

"Did it work?"

"I guess so. I just wish she had waited until I was twelve or thirteen. Which reminds me, we need to pack the crib and two bassinets, can you shrink them while I get the baby supplies?"

"Why two?" He asked as she walked away.

"Because she's having twins any day now!" And with that, Tonks was gone.

When they got back to Grimmauld place, the teenagers were sent upstairs to help the children unpack and send Sorcha down. Other members, including Dumbledore were already waiting in the kitchen to begin.

"Did you find them?" Sorcha asked, slightly when she came in.

"No."

Tonks's honest answer cause her face to drop.

"They're not.."

"That's what we're here to discuss." Moody said. "Sit down. It's time to start."

Everyone complied and sat down. Tonks took the unicorn out of her bag and gave it to Sorcha, who hugged it and began rockong. Sirius watched Sorcha, not sure if he should be angry at her, or feel sorry for her.

"As you all know," Dumbledore began, "Death Eaters, showed up at the home of Blake and Sorcha Chang this morning. Sorcha and the six youngest children managed escape using a portkey. Blake and Isadora, however, have gone missing... Alastor."

"The Ministry knows nothing." Moody started. "We went to the house, but found no one. After escorting the family to safety, we went back to investigate. We now know for a fact, that they were after the girl and that she and Blake are alive for the time being." Sorcha started sniffling. "They wasted no time checking in any rooms besides the kitchen and the girl's room. The room-"

"Mad-Eye!" Tonks interrupted "Sorcha, has already heard what she needs to hear. Can you let her go to bed?"

"What?" Sorcha looked at Tonks. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, you've just had a long day and I thought you should go to bed."

"What happened?"

"Nothing!"

"What happened Moody?"

"It seems that they jumped out the window to escape."

"_Which_ window?"

"Isadora's"

"THAT'S THREE STORIES!" Sorcha screamed. "HOW CAN TH-"

"Your husband must have used a dampening spell."

"Then _where_ are they? Does You-Know-Who have them?"

"No. They want your daughter, not your husband. If they caught your daughter and husband, they would have taken your daughter and killed your husband in a way that played up the minister's fears and the Prophets that's not their goal and I think you know what their goal is. They want Sirius Black and they think that they can use your daughter to get him. Peter Pettigrew told them that Isadora is Sirius's daughter -and I don't care if that's not true, it's what they think and right now it's better that they continue to think that until we can bring her back safe otherwise they have no use for her!" He pulled some wizard pictures, of a Eurasian girl who looked like a slightly older version of the children upstairs. "Now! I want each of you take one of these so that you don't _accidentally _what the girl you're looking for looks like. Everyone will be given a lo-"

"They won't help." Sorcha said, while standing up and walking away.

"What won't help?" Moody asked, getting rather frustrated with Sorcha.

"The pictures. That's not what she looks like... She's a metamorphmagus. She'll change her appearance if she thinks it will help her."


	6. Lost and Found

**Gift of Black**

**Chapter Five: Lost and Found**

She didn't know when she had finally fallen asleep, but when she woke up, she knew something was wrong. Her eyes were still closed, but she was awake and waiting. She never has to wait, she never wakes up on her own. He always wakes up first. He always wakes up, gets ready, and then wakes her up. Whether it's for the day, telling her goodbye before going to work or to tell her that he was making breakfast and she could sleep in, he _always_ woke her up. But he hadn't woken her up, so why was she awake? He always wakes up first. Finally she opened her eyes and all she saw was the stuffed unicorn belonging to her missing daughter.

Sorcha sat up and looked around, shoving her dark messy curls out of her face. She scanned the room, taking in the dingyness that was not her home, and noticing the blankets and cots scattered around the room. The children had slept in here. Slowly, the previous day's events all came back to her and she cried.

It was one o'clock in the afternoon and Tonks was sitting on the floor of the kitchen with the five youngest children. Callidora was sitting in her lap while the four youngest sat in a half circle watching her change her features.

"PINK HAIR!" Nymphie yelled.

"No! Purple!" Deirdre argued.

"PINK!"

"How about I do both." Tonks suggested.

"How would you do that?" Deirdre asked.

"Like this!" Tonks scrunched up her face and her hair became a gradient of pink to purple. "What do you think?" She asked when she opened her eyes.

"PRETTY!" The children clapped excitedly while Callidora stared with wide eyes and made excited noises.

"What else should I do with my hair?"

"Like Mammy's." Peadar piped up.

"Like this?" Tonks asked scrunching her face once more and making her hair grow down to her hips in messy curls.

"YEAH!" Peadar shouted "... can we wake up Mammy now?"

"No Peadar. I already told you, she needs her rest. Let her sleep. She'll wake up soon enough."

"Okay." Peadar said, slightly disappointed.

"Okay! What next?" She asked as Callidora began playing with her curls.

Before the children could answer, the door opened and they looked up to see a tired Sirius walking in and looking at the table before turning around to leave.

"Wotcher Sirius!" Tonks called from the floor.

"Tonks!" Sirius looked around, surprised when he finally saw them. "... What happened to your hair? It's… I've never seen anything like it…" He said while taking in the pink and purple mess, not sure entirely sure if it went with the short denim skirt and torn tights.

"Yeah, I know." She replied standing up. "The kids had a fight, so I taught them about compromise, you know, the usual."

"No… I don't know. Where's Remus? I need to talk to him."

"Oh well! Deirdre?"

"Yes Tonks?" Deirdre asked while standing up.

"Can you take your siblings upstairs and find Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Lupin?" She asked handing Callidora to the young girl. "Tell Mr. Lupin to come to the kitchen."

"Alright, come on guys!" Deirdre called to the rest. "Tonks is going to do something bad and doesn't want to get caught!"

"Quiet in the halls! You don't want that monster coming out again!" Tonks called as the filed out of the kitchen.

"Is she always like that?" Sirius asked after Nyphie shut the door.

"She just likes causing trouble. She's a bit of drama queen, like her Mum."

"Huh." Sirius replied as he looked around and began walking towards the pantry, which Tonks had been sitting by.

"So where were you?" Tonks asked, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed.

"Sleeping." He replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No you weren't. I checked your room. You weren't there."

"You know, it's hard to take you seriously with that hair, you look ridiculous." He said while walking past her with a loaf of bread and jam.

"I don't know, I kind of like it." She said while running her hands through it. "I think I might keep it. Do you think Remus would like it?"

"He seems to like anything you do." Sirius responded while spreading the jam. "Thinks you can do no wrong."

"Really? I'll have to test that! Now, back to the point. Where were you?"

"I already told you."

"And I already told you that I know that you're lying."

"Is that hair heavy? I was always afraid to ask Sorcha."

"Stop trying to change the topic."

"Why does it matter where I was?"

"Oh I don't know! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you've got the entire Ministry of Magic after you! You-Know-Who is back and would be more than happy to see you die _or_, better yet, help the Ministry send you back to Azkaban! Maybe it's the fact that he's already attacked a family that he thinks you're involved with and we're in a bit of an emergency! _OR_ maybe it's the fact that Dumbledore told you to _stay here_!" She replied getting louder with every sentence.

"... I suppose those would be valid reasons." was all he said.

"You suppose? You _SUPPOSE_?!" Tonks was definitely yelling now. "NO! Those _are_ valid reasons Sirius! You aren't in _Hogwarts_ anymore! This is _real_ _life_ and you have responsibilities now! What about Harry? What would he do if something happened to you?! Did you even think about that? Or did you just think that nothing would happen to you?"

"Maybe I was tired of sitting around and being useless!" Sirius now stood to face her. "Like you've all said! It's all my fault that they're in danger! It's my fault that an innocent child is on the run for her life with her father! I don't want to take her family away from her again! I just just wanted to fix it!" He yelled.

"You went to the house? Didn't you?" Tonks asked quietly.

"Yes."

"And?"

"There are Death Eaters. They're searching the property, they seem to think that they're hiding in the woods, which would confirm Mad-Eye's theory."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING EARLIER?"

"That's why I asked for Remus!"

"OH! YOU STUPID- Nevermind. I've gotta find Remus" She said pushing past him as Remus entered the room. "Perfect timing Remus! We have to go! now! Death Eaters at the Chang's! Sirius, wake yourself up! I'm telling Mad-Eye and he'll probably tell you to come! But don't think for a minute that you're off the hook! We're having a talk when we get back!"

"How do you know there are Death Eaters at the Chang's?" Remus asked as he pulled two broomsticks out of the troll leg and Tonks cast a patronus that went zooming through the front door.

"Sirius snuck out."

"Wh-"

"I don't know!" She snapped as she opened the door.

"Tonks, you may want to do something about that hair."

"Why? You don't like it?" She asked tripping down the stairs and being caught by Remus again.

"No. It's just that it might get in the way." He replied while steadying her.

"Oh, yeah." She scrunched up her face and changed it back to the short pink hair she usually wore. "Ready?"

"Ready." Remus said just before they apparated.

The moment they appeared at the end of the driveway they mounted their brooms and flew down the dirt driveway as fast as they could with their wands out and ready. Scenery went by in a blur, the enchanted feeling was now replaced with the knowledge that a Death Eater could be hiding behind any of these trees as well as the dead bodies of a young girl and her father. As soon as they got out of the woods and made it past the gate, they began deflecting spells from Death Eaters hiding around the house. Tonks veered off towards the well with Remus following and rolled off the broom. She had always questioned why Sorcha had this thing, but right now she was finding herself extremely grateful for the formerly useless well.

"What's the plan?" Remus asked as they shot spells from behind the well.

"Distract them until Mad-Eye can get here with reinforcements!"

"Sounds good."

It turned out that they didn't have to wait long as they were soon joined by Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Bill Weasley who came flying down the driveway on their broomsticks.

The three Death Eaters, surrounding the house soon grabbed their own broomsticks and retreated towards a section of the woods on the left side of the house.

"SINCE WHEN DO DEATH EATERS THINK AHEAD?!" Tonks yelled as she summoned her broomstick back and mounted it.

"FOLLOW THEM!" Mad-Eye commanded "THEY'RE TRACKING THE GIRL!"

As Tonks and Remus followed the Death Eaters, they saw a huge black dog rush past them.

'Guess they let him come after all.' Tonks thought to herself

The woods soon proved to be too thick to fly through and they dismounted their brooms to continue on foot. It wasn't long before they caught up with a small group of Death Eaters and another duel broke out. Sirius managed to run past and follow the trail of the other Death Eaters. The group managed to advance forward and shortly heard the sounds of another duel further along in the woods. A scream filled the woods and they knew that Isadora had been found.

"That's her!" Tonks shouted as she dodged a curse from a tall Death Eater. "We need to hurry!"

The screams were soon followed by the sound of a man's voice in the distance.

"Isadora! Run! Now! Hide!"

"DAAAAAAAAAAAD!" The bloodcurdling scream broke through the woods and moments later the Death Eaters disapparated.

"We're in apparating range?" Bill asked.

"Nevermind that. We need to find out what happened!" Mad-Eye snapped before marching as fast as he could through the woods. The others soon followed at a run but stopped when they saw Sirius, in human form, supporting an unconscious dark-haired man, slightly taller than himself.

"They took her. They took the girl."


	7. Sirius and Sorcha The Past is the Prese

_Okay, first, Updates will be taking longer due to traveling, destruction and jobs._

_Second, I've been wanting to know this for awhile now, but does Sorcha come off as a bitch? I'm totally alright with people saying she does, you're free to hate. I'm just curious._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter_

* * *

**Gift of Black**

**Chapter Six: Sirius and Sorcha; The Past is the Present**

Sirius had to admit, the last day and a half had certainly been interesting, but he was almost starting to wish that things would get boring again. This was simply too much. Especially now that he was carrying his ex-girlfriend's unconscious husband up the stairs to the room they had just cleaned for her children, who were all staying in his house.

It had all been so boring, being stuck in that house while everybody got to go out and do actual work for the Order. He had taken one of the only jobs he could, sending a message to Dumbledore. Then he was sitting down getting ready to go put on a happy face for Harry and the others. He had finally left the room and made it to the second floor when he ran into Remus, who had wanted to talk to him about something. Before he could begin, however, there was a faint noise coming from downstairs and he was gone. Sirius had followed and was hearing more noise than he was used to hearing in Grimmauld, slowly getting louder. He was more than a little shocked to find his kitchen full of children. The shock seemed to only increase when the ex-girlfriend that he had completely forgotten about popped up in his kitchen, pregnant and shrieking like the Banshee he had always suspected she was. But that shock reached an all new level when he found out that all six of those kids were _hers_ and that there was another one that missing and it was somehow his fault.

Remus had explained to him that Sorcha had had a baby about nine months after he was sent to Azkaban, but that the baby wasn't his. She had gotten married about a year later, but he wasn't sure when. Somehow Tonks knew them, once again, Remus did not know how. It seemed that there was a lot he didn't know. What he did know however, was that Peter probably thought that the girl, Isadora, was Sirius's; and must have told Voldemort. Even if that wasn't the case, Remus had reminded him that there was another reason that he'd go after her and her family. A reason from the past that they were both very familiar with, and a reason that was his fault.

Sirius, had not been entirely convinced that the girl was not his, until he had been shown a picture of her. That convinced him, more than anything, that she held no relation to him. After that, however, he felt that he had a bit more of a right to be angry than Sorcha did. He wanted to ask her what had happened. Unfortunately, Tonks had seen that coming and told him not to, and with the mood that she was in, he felt it best to listen.

Then came the meeting. There she was looking so upset like she was the poor victim, never mind the fact that she had obviously cheated on him. He was angry, but still had to admit that she did have a reason to be upset. So fine, he felt sorry for her, but he was still angry. Then came the announcement that threw everybody for a loop. The girl, Isadora, was a metamorphmagus….

He sat there for a moment, shocked, while Mad-Eye and the others tried to figure out how this would affect the search. Metamorphmagi were extremely rare, and he'd only ever met one. Then came the sound of the door shutting and he snapped out of it, jumped up and ran after her. He caught her at the first landing and dragged her into the drawing room, protesting all the way.

"What do you think you're doing?" She snapped the moment the door shut.

"Why didn't anybody know that she's a metamorphmagus?"

"Because she doesn't like to broadcast it!"

"Really? Because I think most metamorphmagi have no problem letting others know! In fact most young metamorphmagi seem to _enjoy_ experimenting with their appearance! So how is it that no one knows?" Sirius whispered back angrily.

"Because she isn't _like_ most other young people! Or most other metamorphmagi for that matter! She grew up with another one around and was able to learn younger. She didn't like looking different from the other kids so she just uses it to look like them!"

"And who put her up to that? Was it you? You didn't like people asking why one of your kids didn't look like the others?"

"NO! She started doing that when she was a baby! She was always messing with her features, but would always gravitate towards looking like Blake, especially whenever he was around! And she just made it a permanent thing when she got older!"

"So what does she really look like?"

"Why do you care?" Sorcha asked suspiciously.

"Because it would be helpful to know for finding her."

"Not for you! I was told that you're supposed to stay here! Why do you really want to know!"

"Fine! You caught me! I think that you're lying! I think that she's my daughter!"

"WELL SHE'S NOT! SHE NOT YOUR DAUGHTER!" Sorcha screamed up at him. "SHE'S MY DAUGHTER! SHE LOOKS LIKE ME!"

"Well you can't have a baby by yourself, so if I'm not the father, who is?"

"It doesn't matter!" Sorcha replied looking and sounding quite panicked now.

"Oh I think it does matter."

"Well it doesn't! He's not around so it doesn't matter!"

"Really? How could anybody just leave you?"

"You found it rather easy." She responded coldly.

"I was in Azkaban!" Sirius yelled for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"Yeah, I noticed, and as I already told you, it could have been avoided if you hadn't gone on a one man revenge mission!"

"THAT-" Sirius closed his eyes and released a breathe. "Nevermind. When did it happen? I at least deserve to know that much."

"When did what happen?" Sorcha asked outrightly confused.

"When did you sleep with the 'father'?" Sirius asked looking rather weary. He had forgotten how thick this girl could be.

"Oh." Sorcha turned red "Um… after you went to Azkaban?"

"When exactly?"

"I don't know… a week? Maybe two?" She replied sounding rather unsure.

"I don't seem to recall you being an easy girl."

"Well you do stupid things when you're in shock!" She yelled defensively.

"Yeah, sure. When's her birthday?" Sirius casually asked.

"Why should I tell you?!"

"If you have nothing to hide, you should tell me."

"June twenty-eighth! Are you happy?" She snapped.

"Premature?"

"No!"

"Really?"

"... I'm going to bed." Sorcha informed him as she turned around to leave.

"No you're not." Sirius said as he grabbed her arm. "You're going to tell me the truth!"

"I AM! SHE'S NOT YOUR DAUGHTER!"

"WELL I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! NOTHING IN YOUR STORY MATCHES UP!" Sirius yelled while Sorcha tried to look away. "YOU MAY BE PETTY AND VINDICTIVE, BUT YOU'RE NOT A CHEATER! NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU WERE IN HIDING FOR THE LAST YEAR OF THE WAR! AND LET'S NOT FORGET THAT LOVELY ABILITY YOU TRIED TO HIDE! THE ONLY METAMORPHMAGUS I KNOW IS RELATED TO ME! AND SOMEHOW THE TWO OF YOU SEEM TO KNOW EACH OTHER VERY WELL! SO TELL ME ONCE AGAIN THAT SHE ISN'T MY DAUGHTER! TELL ME!" Sirius yelled while looking at her.

Sorcha stood with her head turned away and her free hand on her large stomach. Finally she pulled her other hand out of Sirius's grasp and looked up at him angrily with a pained look on her face.

"She's not your daughter." She spoke calmly trying cover her anger and stop the crying. "None of that means anything. She may not have her biological father, but she has a father. He has been the greatest father this world has ever seen and she loves him more than anybody can imagine. So excuse me if I don't spend a lot of time thinking about a stupid fling that I had fourteen years ago." She spat before turning around to walk to the door.

She opened the door in time for Mrs. Weasley to see her from the stairs.

"Oh! Sorcha! … Sirius?" She said seeing Sirius through the door. "It's time for dinner. Would you like me to get the kids for you Sorcha?"

"No." Sorcha looked behind her at Sirius and then looked back at Mrs. Weasley. "I think I'll go to bed early. I can send the kids down."

"Are you okay Sorcha?" Mrs. Weasley asked looking at her face.

"She's fine." Sirius said walking up behind her. "She just doesn't want to see me. I'll eat later. You go downstairs." He told Sorcha. "I'll send the kids down." He told Mrs. Weasley.

"Thank you Sirius. Come along Sorcha!"

The moment Sirius had sent all the kids down, he went back to the room that Sorcha and her kids were staying in. The kids had been rather busy by the looks of it. The room was covered with small blanket beds, some cots that the teenagers had set up, and a crib that he suspected the twins had set up.

Carefully, Sirius walked towards the trunk lying in the middle of the room and found the compartment labeled "Sorcha". Opening it, he pointed his wand inside and whispered.

"Accio scrap book."

He knew that Sorcha's most prized items were her photos and anybody who knew her would pack them. Unfortunately, he had not realized how many there were and got smacked in the face with several books. In retrospect he should have seen that coming. Seven kids meant alot of pictures. Finding the album he needed, he tossed the others back in their compartment, giving the oldest one a guilty look and extra care.

Once everyone was done with dinner and in bed, Sirius went down to the kitchen with plans to eat a quick dinner and sneak out. He had a plate of leftovers and had just opened a bottle of butterbeer when he heard the door creak open. Looking up, he saw Harry standing in the doorway.

"Harry… What are you doing up?"

"I heard some noise and thought that it must be you."

"Ah… I see. Yes, I missed dinner earlier and figured that I should probably eat. Was there something you wanted to talk about?" He asked before eating.

"Yeah, actually, there were a couple of things." Harry said as he crossed the room and sat down across from Sirius.

"You know that Molly will kill me if I tell you anymore about the Order and Voldemort. I don't mind telling you, but I just feel you should know that my death would be on your hands." Sirius tried joking.

"Don't worry about it. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh… what is it then?" Sirius asked, taken aback.

"Why weren't you at dinner?"

"Oh, that… Sorcha and I had a fight. I'm sure you've already noticed that she's not too fond of me. But, anyways, we had another fight and she didn't want to be anywhere near me. I didn't want to be responsible for making her baby starve, so I decided to go upstairs and let her eat."

"Oh. That makes sense." Harry replied.

"Was that all?" Sirius asked, whaile taking a sip of butterbeer.

"Is it true that you used to date her?" Harry blurted out. _That_ caught Sirus off guard and caused him to choke on his drink. He should have seen that coming, but it still caught him off guard.

"Did Tonks tell you that?"

"Yes. Well, technically it was the twins. Tonks caught them spying and asked them what they knew. Is it true?"

"Ah…" Sirius sighed. "Yes. It's true."

"So… What happened?"

"I thought that was pretty obvious. I got sent to Azkaban and she moved on and had seven kids."

"Well, that's not exactly what I meant." Harry said.

"What _did_ you mean then?"

"How come you never mentioned her before?"

"Honestly? I really did forget about her… The moment your parents died, I completely forgot about her. I was so distraught over their deaths, I was worried about you… and I wanted revenge on Peter. I forgot that there was a scared girl waiting for me to come back and I just went after Peter. Then in Azkaban...I was so focused on Peter's escape and remembering that I was innocent… I just never thought of her. After I escaped…" Sirius paused. "Well you remember that. I was trying to find Peter and I was worrying about you I just never thought about her. I didn't remember her until she walked into the kitchen today. Could barely recall her name…" Sirius trailed off while Harry watched him.

"Did you love her?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence. Sirius stared at him for awhile before slowly responding.

"I suppose I did. Not enough, I suppose, but I did love her."

"What do you mean by 'not enough'?" Harry asked.

"I rarely put her first. I always had something more important, at the time I didn't think anything of it. Even laughed off your parents when they said anything about it, but looking back on it now… They were right. I should have put her first more often, but I didn't. Instead, I would antagonize her because I thought it was funny. I would leave to goof off and get in trouble even when she begged me not to. I rarely took her feelings into consideration and then I proceeded to destroy her life."

"How?" Harry asked.

"... I don't… It's a long story. I'm not sure you want to hear it."

"At dinner, she said that she knew my parents. Is that true?"

"Yes. She did."

"Tonks also said that she was involved with you in more ways than one, and that Voldemort has gone after her before. Why? What happened?"

Sirius sighed and buried his head in his hands, he was really starting to feel like Remus, and he didn't like it. After a while he lifted his head and looked at Harry.

"Are you sure that you want hear this Harry?"

"Yes."

"Okay then... I'm sure you noticed something strange about Sorcha, even before she started screaming her head off." Sirius paused and waited for Harry's response.

"Yes." Harry confirmed.

"I'm sure that you've also noticed by now, that she's Irish, correct?"

"Yes, but what does that have anything to do with this."

"Everything really. The blood status of Irish wizards has always been a topic of debate."

"Why?"

"Because technically they're all half-breeds, even Irish muggles."

"What? _How_? That doesn't even make sense." Harry said rather confused.

"Like most people, they're descended from multiple groups of people. But there's one group in particular that made the Irish different, it's a group called the Tuatha De Danann. Have you ever heard of them?"

"No. I haven't who… or what were they?"

"They were fairies. Not like the little ones you've see at Christmas. There are several different types of fairies, not just those small ones. These fairies in particular were more human-like, and almost every Irish person is descended from them. And because of that Fairy ancestry, there has always been some debate as to whether the Irish pure-bloods are actually pure-bloods. By most wizards' standards, Sorcha is a pure-blood. But by the standards of those such as my family, Death Eaters, Voldemort and some in the Ministry, they're not. They're considered dirty half-breeds by many of those people, half-bloods at best. That's why my mother's portrait called her a disgusting creature."

"So Voldemort went after her because she _might_ be part fairy?" Harry incredulously.

"No."

"So what does her being Irish have to do with anything?" Harry was even more confused than before.

"Because, due to her heritage, she had a special gift." Sirius paused. "The Fei family, was said to be descended from a fairy princess. They had more knowledge about fairies than anybody else in the world, and they can still speak to fairies, much like you can talk to snakes." Sirius paused again.

"And Voldemort wanted to talk to... _fairies_?" Harry asked. This was making no sense. Why would Voldemort want to talk to _fairies_?

"No... It was because of something I did…." Sirius answered hollowly.

"What did _you_ do?" Harry was starting to get worried.

"Sorcha started going to Hogwarts three years after me, and was sorted into Gryffindor. I used to talk to her from time to time, and we got along fairly well. But... she always seemed to know things that she wasn't supposed to know and it baffled us, especially considering that she couldn't even do the simplest homework assignments. We started dating shortly after I left Hogwarts, and it was around that time that I found out that she could talk to fairies... And I used that."

"How? ….Sirius did you…"

"I used her to spy on Death Eaters. I didn't tell her what she was doing though. I made up reasons to have her fairies follow Death Eaters that I knew and she would tell me whatever the fairies found out. It was usually information that had no meaning to her or anyone else who wasn't involved in the war; but it was very useful for the Order."

"How old was she?"

"Same age you are right now. Fifteen."

"Did Dumbledore know?"

"No. Not at first. But eventually people became suspicious, they wanted to know where I was getting the information, but I knew they wouldn't approve. I was arrogant and thought that nothing could go wrong, so I lied and said that I had a secret informant who wanted to remain anonymous. My friends however knew that I was lying. After about a year, Sorcha began getting suspicious and eventually asked Lilly what she thought about it."

"She figured it out, didn't she?" Harry asked with a mixture of pain and pride in his voice.

"Yes, she did. And then she told your father and the others. They were furious and told me that I was being stupid and had put her in danger. I kept arguing that they were overreacting and that nothing would happen. 'Who would notice tiny fairies? Who would suspect them?' Three days later, we got word that Voldemort knew and had sent Death Eaters after her. By the time we got there… it… it was too... just a mess." Sirius finally finished looking haunted. Harry was starting to wish that he had not asked, he'd never seen Sirius like this before and it worried him.

"What happened?" Harry urged.

"She... was home for the summer. The house… it was... horrible. There was screaming… everywhere… we chased the Death Eaters away, but… She was from a big family Harry, fourteen kids… she was the fifth, the three oldest… they lived by themselves… had their own lives… they were fine.… Her father… we found his body… he tried to fight them… give his family time. Her mother… at the bottom of the stairs… got in the way of a curse directed at one of the five year olds… fell down the stairs…. Then there was Patrick… nine years old knocked over the railing by a curse... fell two stories. Then… Blathnaid… She was fourteen. She got Declan and Riordan -Patrick's twin- ...and Siobhan out… then… she realized that… that Sinead, Alroy and Fiacra, the baby, were still inside. She didn't know... if her father and older siblings were still... alive… she went back... to get the others… By the looks of her body… we suspected that Bellatrix…" Sirius made a small choking noise. "Bellatrix Lestrange... my cousin... Bellatrix got her… fourteen years old... Can you believe that?"

"Yes." Harry answered, thinking about everything he'd gone through in the past few years.

"...Oh… yeah… I guess you would… sorry. I…" Sirius hesitated "... wasn't thinking I guess."

"It's okay." Harry said, feeling bad once again. "I mean, it sounds worse than anything I've seen, so it's not quite the same. It's just… did any of them live?"

"Yes… the baby was fine. The Death Eaters never went into the parent's room and couldn't hear the crying over the noise. Somehow Sinead had managed to get into the cellar and was hiding there... she was hurt, but a week in St. Mungo's healed her... After chasing away the Death Eaters, we found Alroy in the attic with Sorcha and… and Deirdre… she was dead. Got hit by a curse. Bled out in Sorcha's arms... She was three…."

"What about the kids outside?"

"They were fine. We found them before entering the house. Left two order members with them while the rest of us went inside."

"Wasn't there another one?"

"Peader. He was seventeen… He tried to help his father fight them off and give the others time. He died in St. Mungo's a few days later... Most of them would have died if it hadn't been for him. But none of them would have died if it hadn't been for me."

"But she still _stayed_ with you?" Harry wasn't sure if he should be angry with the girl or his godfather. He didn't even understand why he was upset about it in the first place. "What's wrong with her?"

"A lot of things… She was a nice girl, rambunctious and annoying with a horrible temper, but she was nice. After that, though, she changed. She was beyond furious when she found out why her family was dead. Tried to kill me. And she might have succeeded if Dumbledore and a few others hadn't been there. Mad-Eye, didn't stop her, he believed that I deserved some severe punishment. Something about being stupid and... well everything I did wrong."

"He was right." Harry replied honestly.

"That's exactly what your parents said… but I learned my lesson after that and they forgave me before I forgave myself."

"What about Sorcha?" Harry wanted to stay on topic, even if it meant ignoring a story about his parents for once.

"Her older siblings came as soon as we contacted them. They were obviously devastated… but when they found out about the spying… they were furious. They told Sorcha that she should have known and blamed her. Then they took custody of the surviving children, but told Sorcha that she wasn't to come anywhere near them in case the Death Eaters were still after her; They'd lost enough family. The Order hid Sorcha, and when the shock finally wore off, she wanted to know why I had done it. So I told her. I told her that it was stupid of me, and I explained my reasons for fighting Voldemort."

"Did she scream?"

"Yes. I almost went deaf that day. But then she told me that she agreed with me."

"_WHAT_?!" Harry practically shouted. This was unbelievable. This woman made no _sense_!

"Not with what I did. She agreed that I was stupid-"

"Oh."

"-and that Voldemort needed to be stopped. Then she told me that she wasn't going back to school. She said that the only way to get past her family's deaths and have any chance of seeing the others was to keep moving forward and actively oppose Voldemort. She talked Dumbledore into putting her family into hiding abroad and letting her join the Order of the Phoenix. After that she came to live with me -mostly for protection- and started learning to be a better witch. She excelled faster than before and became a rather formidable opponent. Not the best, but if I had to grade her, I would have given her an 'E'. Plus, she found better ways of spying that weren't as easily detected. She didn't do a lot, but what she did was very helpful."

"And she forgave you?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure… I think she tried to… her parents and priest were always talking about forgiveness. But how can you forgive something like that? She just kind of lost it. Like I said, she was never the same after that. She would try to be like she was before, but eventually she would lash out. She would get violent and scream. Even with the guilt, I found her difficult to handle."

"And now she's going through it again." Harry stated.

"Yeah… she is… Harry?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going out." Sirius stated taking a final sip of his butterbeer.

"Where?" Harry asked.

"I'm gonna go to her house. _Snuffles_ might be able to find something that the others couldn't. If anybody asks, can you tell them that I'm sleeping in today?"

"Are you trying to make amends?" Harry asked.

"No... I can't bring back the dead. But, I can try to bring back her daughter and husband, and make sure that she doesn't go through this twice."

"Fine. But don't get caught. There are still a lot of people who need you."

"Don't worry. It won't happen again," Sirius smiled at Harry before finally turning to leave.

"Sirius!" Harry called. Sirius turned around and looked at Harry.

"Yes?"

"I have one more question." Harry asked.

"What is it?"

"The girl. Isadora. Is she your daughter?" Harry was now waiting, very nervously to hear the answer. He didn't know why he was so nervous. Why did it matter? It didn't help that Sirius was just staring at him with a completely unreadable expression. After what had felt like eternity, Sirius finally answered.

"No."

* * *

Pronunciations

Tuatha De Danann: Too-ha Day Dawn-en

Blathnaid: Blaw-nid

Riordan: Reer-don

Sinead: Shi-naid

Siobhan: Shi-vawn

Alroy: All-roy

Fiacra: Fee-ack-ruh

_If you want to hear the pronunciations, there's a website called babynamesofireland that has audio recordings of the pronunciations._

_Also, after having a discussion about our feelings towards the death of the Lupins, one of my friends wrote this. post/75782853906/shaking-canon_


	8. Redemption in Progress

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter_

* * *

**Gift of Black**

**Chapter Seven: Redemption In Progress**

"Snuffles" looked up at the house before him, the scene he saw was disturbingly familiar. A fairy tale home; abandoned, wrecked and his fault. He nudged the broken twig-and-twine gate slightly to enter the yard and walked on up to the door on his padded feet. 'And it's locked. Of course he locked it. Probably put a couple curses on it too.' Sirius thought grumpily about Mad-Eye Moody's paranoia. 'How am I supposed to find anything now.'

The large dog moved off the porch and began circling the house, hoping for something even remotely helpful to appear. There was nothing and it was too dark to see anything. The only light in the yard came from a few fairies who floated around the yard as if on their own miniature guard duty. On his fourth hopeless lap around the house, a passing fairy's light reflected off of something in the bushes by the house and caught his attention.

It was glass from the broken window, and upon closer inspection he realized the reason Tonks tried to stop Sorcha from finding out. The glass was covered in blood. He may not be a Bloodhound, but he was still a dog and could at least try to follow the scent. With that thought in mind, Sirius began his search. Several hours passed with Sirius constantly losing his trail and circling back to the house as the sun slowly rose.

He didn't know how it happened, but he must have fallen asleep, because he was now waking up underneath a tree. Standing up on all fours and stretching, he began his trek back to the house. He was starting to consider returning to his human form when something caught his eye. He was not alone anymore. Death Eaters were now searching the property.

Sirius bolted as fast as he could to get back to apparating range. He needed to tell the others. There was no way he could take these Death Eaters on by himself and he wasn't stupid enough to try this time. He would talk to Remus. Remus would do what needs to be done, get help and ask questions later.

Unfortunately, nothing seems to ever go according to plan and the first person he met was Tonks (sporting her weirdest hair yet) and a bunch of those kids. He swore he saw the one named Deirdre give him a dirty look before leaving, she was definitely her mother's daughter. He tried making casual conversation and acting normal, hoping to avoid getting his head snapped off. It didn't work, but at least she had her priorities straight, even when she was angry, and he was soon left by himself. It seemed that Sorcha had not influenced his little cousin as much as he feared.

The conversation had given Sirius some new questions to ask though. Was he taking unnecessary risks? It wasn't really that dangerous... was it? But the biggest one was definitely, what would happen to Harry if anything happened to him? What would he do? He didn't have long to think though, because once Sirius heard the front door shut, he walked back into the pantry and found the the shelves of pots and pans. In the very back was a dusty turkey roaster with it's lid on top. Sirius opened up the turkey roaster and pulled out the scrapbook he had hidden there the previous night. He walked out of the kitchen with the intention of returning the scrapbook, hopefully before anybody realized that it was gone. He was about to enter Sorcha's room when he heard the sounds of crying coming from inside. The guilt once again began to sink in. Sirius sighed before knocking on the door.

"Sorcha, it's me Sirius I-"

"Go away!" Sorcha's called in an almost defeated voice.

"Gladly, but first I need to give you something." Sirius responded.

"Well I don't want it!" Her voice was now sounding shrilly.

"I think you do. It's… I may have taken something from you last night while you wer-"

That must have done the trick, because the door was immediately wrenched open before he could finish. There stood Sorcha with messy hair, a tear stained face and giving him a look murderous enough to rival Molly. He often wondered why people were so intimidated by tall people when it was the short ones who were terrifying.

"What did you take this time?" She snapped angrily at him before seeing the book in his hands. "Did you- Give it back!" She half yelled as she snatched the scrapbook out of his hands. "Why would you take this?"

"I told you that I wanted to know what she looked like."

"Are you _still_ on about that?" She whispered angrily, trying to keep her voice down. "She has nothing to do with you, s-"

"Well somebody thinks she does." Sirius cut Sorcha off catching her by surprise. "And whether or not it's true, it's what they think and I am not going to be the reason that you lose your family again!" Sirius watched Sorcha -who seemed too surprised to speak- for a moment before continuing. "I'm going to look for them and do anything I can to bring them back. I promise..." He finished somewhat awkwardly. "She's a beautiful girl by the way." He added before turning to leave.

He had just reached the top step when he heard her calling his name. He turned to see her looking at him with a somewhat pained expression.

"Thank you… thank you, so much. And, I'm sorry, for everything. I really am."

"You don't have to apologize. I probably deserve everything you've thrown at me… except for that cat you threw at me… I don't think deserved that."

"Yes you did, and if you keep talking I might remember every horrible thing you did and have to take back that apology."

"Fair enough." Sirius replied with a chuckle, before turning and heading back down the stairs in a better mood than he'd had in weeks. His good mood was broken, however, as he reached he ground floor and heard the '_charming_' voice of Mad-Eye Moody.

"Wipe that grin off your face lad! We've got work to do!"

"Ah, Mad-Eye, wonderful to see you too." Sirius replied in joking manner, while noticing Bill and Kingsley coming down the hall with broomsticks in hand.

"Knock it off Sirius." Moody snapped. "How many are there?"

"Not sure. I only saw a few but there are probably more." Sirius answered

"Wonderful." Moody grunted sarcastically while his eye rolled around. "These two were the only ones who could get away right now, so we'll have to take you along as well I suppose. I want you going in your dog form though, you hear me? If we get drawn into the woods, and especially if there's a fight, you'll be able to get through easiest."

"Sounds like a good plan." Sirius replied.

"What's going on up there?" Bill asked, drawing everyone's attention to a commotion coming from the upstairs. Mad-Eye's eye whizzed in the direction of the commotion and rested there for a bit.

"Nothing to worry about right now." He informed the group. "It's just a very busy day. Now let's move before those Death Eaters find the girl!"

With that, the four men filed out of the house and apparated to Sorcha's dirt driveway. Sirius morphed into his dog form as the others mounted their brooms and set off down the driveway. Sirius set off after them as fast as he could, rushing down the driveway, gaining speed and jumping over the fence as they chased the Death Eaters into the woods. He passed the others and continued following the Death Eaters as they shouted warnings to the ones searching. The woods soon became too thick to fly through and the Death Eaters he had been following dismounted their brooms, but Sirius had heard the other Death Eaters and continued in that direction until he saw what he was looking for.

He had come to a sloping and rocky part of the woods above a creek. Across the creek still a distance away, he saw two figures, a tall dark haired, wearing green plaid, being supported by a small dark haired girl wearing a lavender nightgown. Sirius's breath caught in his throat. He found them. He actually found them, and now he just had to bring them back to Grimmauld and everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. Before Sirius could take a step forward, the two figures turned their heads sharply in the opposite direction and the girl let out a scream worthy of her mother. Sirius was not the only who had found them.

It all happened so fast. The injured man straightened up and drew out his wand to face the two Death Eaters coming towards him. He gave the girl a push.

"Isadora! Run! Now! Hide!" He yelled.

Sirius lunged forward jumping down the rocks and slopes and running through the creek trying to get close enough to help. The scared girl took a few steps backwards before turning and running, while her father fought. 'Almost there' Sirius thought. He took a leap and began his transformation back into a human. Then it happened, the large Death Eater had knocked over the father and ran past him. The commotion caught the girl's attention and she turned around just in time to see her father get hit by a purple curse.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAD!" The bloodcurdling scream burst out as Sirius landed and the large Death Eater grabbed her and turned on the spot, disappearing.

Before Sirius could react, the smaller Death Eater fired a curse at him, missed, and apparated away. Sirius ran to the spot where Sorcha's husband lay and quickly checked for a pulse... He was alive. Sirius let out a sigh of relief before picking the man up as best as he could -especially considering how big he was- and walking back towards the others. It was only a minute or two before Tonks came barreling out from behind a tree followed by the others.

"They took her. They took the girl." Sirius gasped.

"What?" Tonks asked in shock as if she didn't want to believe him.

"They took the girl and he needs help! Now!" Sirius yelled impatiently. The shock was broken immediately, Kingsley grabbed the man under the other arm and they all apparated back to Grimmauld.

"Don't we need Dumbledore to tell him where we are?" Bill asked.

"No. Dumbledore already told him last month." Mad-Eye responded, before opening the door and being greeted by Dumbledore himself.

"Ah, Blake!" Dumbledore greeted the unconscious man.

"Could you tell us where to take him? He's kind of heavy." Sirius grunted.

"Of course, of Course. Poppy has everything set up in the room next to Sorcha's." Dumbledore said, pointing the way. "I'll be up shortly to hear what happened, but first I need to go to the kitchen. The children are trying to bake something called 'lemon bars' and they've asked me to taste test it." He cheerfully hummed while walking to the kitchen.

"Great to know we've got our priorities straight." Sirius mumbled under his breath.

"He's actually distracting them so that we can get Blake upstairs without a commotion. But those kids don't stay put long, so hurry up." Tonks said trying to sound as energetic as usual.

Sirius sighed and began the climb up the two flights of stairs with Kingsley's help. He'd had eventful days, but this was ridiculous. Sirius was now carrying his ex-girlfriend's husband up the stairs to the room that they had just cleaned out for her kids… in his house.


End file.
